Many thanks to our mentor, JessicaHood of Sales Force for creating the prototype and video narration. Many thanks to Charlie Shryock, our coach. Many thanks to Jennifer Auchmoody and Angela Rohan for contributing their ideas Badge It and text message notifications, adding value to iGrad. Many guild members contributed to the evolution of this idea. The prototype below is the result of authentic design thinking.

Hi, I’m Norka Padilla. I am an instructional specialist for a large suburb of Washington, DC, supporting 35 middle schools and 25 high schools increase English language proficiency and graduation rates.

My team’s idea – iGrad! – is to provide all students with an interactive, visually appealing app that mentors them to graduate high school. The app will guide students to complete state-based graduation requirements, validated by live mentors within the community. As students pursue gameful missions, receive timely notifications, and earn badges, they learn to find and use local resources, develop their confidence and perseverance, and launch toward college and career success.

This idea started by developing support for a real student, Cristian, who was in a gang in middle school. Cristian eventually graduated high school because of the supportive mentoring he received.

As an educator and parent, I find it outrageous that so many students from low socioeconomic backgrounds aren't even scheduled to take credit-bearing courses for graduation. Let’s empower students directly with a tool for successful self-advocacy.

70% of our English language learners are now born in the United States, so providing the app in Spanish will meet the needs of a rapidly expanding community.

The app could be populated by any state’s graduation requirements, in multiple languages. And features could be integrated into existing apps like WhatsUpNext.

The need is real. The time is now. Let’s help students make dreams a reality.

How can we turn a high school graduation plan into an accessible, interactive, visually appealing and motivating app so more students have a tangible PLAN for success? I believe there are too many students who need help graduating from high school as a means of continuing on to college and career. I have found students in high school over and over again who are not even scheduled in the correct courses to earn enough credits for graduation. An educational adult should never be an obstacle to the successful future of a student. So let's empower the student to bypass their ineffective system and get on the path to graduation. This is particularly necessary for increasing opportunity for ALL students who would benefit from this digital mentor- turning their plan into action.

Student FEEDBACK based on using prototype:

I think it great and I now have a better understanding if it, I feel like having people remind you to turn in work and check on you will be very super effective and encouraging.

Improvements, I think it would be a great Idea if we can incorporate grades in there as in the other app of Edline, (Blackboard Product) and Edline Helper where you can estimate what grade you would have to get to achieve your grade goals and also how will something affect your grade and the importance of doing it.I think more color should also be added and more shapes if possible, I will keep you informed if anything else comes to mind.